Georgia, a 5-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, is a medical marijuana patient. Kelly Conway, Georgia’s owner, takes some heat when she tells friends about the unorthodox treatment.

“People will say they can’t believe I’m letting her get high, but she’s not getting high,” Conway said.

No, Georgia is not ingesting the same kind of pot that Snoop Dogg smokes. (Or New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd eats.) Georgia, along with a growing number of pets, eats hemp-based capsules that contain only trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol-or THC-the psychoactive ingredient that provides the cannabis high.

Georgia suffered from syringomyelia, a serious neurological disease, and traditional medicine wasn’t working. So earlier this year, Conway took her to Dr. Cynthia Graves, who practices alternative veterinary care in Philadelphia. Graves started Georgia on acupuncture, which seemed to help, and then she recommended Canna-Pet, a supplement made from hemp, for Georgia’s pain and anxiety.

Conway was skeptical, but to her surprise, it worked.

“It has truly been a miracle and I don’t say that lightly,” Conway told CNBC. “I feel like I have a whole new dog. Georgia’s happy and relaxed. She’s not in pain. It’s amazing.”

Colorado and Washington have legalized and regulated cannabis for human recreational use-and 22 states allow for some form of medical marijuana. But no federal or state agency has made any provisions for the largely unregulated pet supplement industry.

To further complicate matters, the Drug Enforcement Agency still considers industrial hemp a controlled substance even though it is not psychoactive.

But times are changing. On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 22-8 on a plan that would block the DEA-or any federal agency-from spending funds to enforce anti-hemp laws in any state that has received permission to grow it. The full House OK’d the measure the previous week.

Congress’ action emerged after the DEA in May seized a shipment of hemp seeds from Italy headed to Kentucky. The state filed a lawsuit against the federal government to get its hemp seeds and now Kentucky, long known for its tobacco fields, has hemp in the ground.

As the nation grapples with this knotty issue, farmers, business owners, patients-and pets-are moving ahead while lawmakers hash it out.

Helping with pain and anxiety

Graves has recommended hemp-based supplements for other dogs experiencing anxiety or pain. She’s also used Canna-Pet in conjunction with cancer treatments and to boost appetite in dogs that won’t eat.

“There’s no question that it’s a benefit to some patients,” she said.

Two companies in the Seattle area, Canna-Pet and Canna Companion, are leading the charge into this new and uncharted field of hemp-based veterinary medicine.

They started with their pets and then those of family and friends, to find the right dosage.

“We took information from the human world and combined that with our knowledge of dogs and cats and slowly whittled away until we got something that was safe for them and that worked,” she explained.

They grind up the whole hemp plant to make their Canna Companion capsules-roots, seeds, leaves and stem-to preserve all the ingredients. They want just a little THC along with the cannabidiol (CBD), one of the main medical components.

Brandon readily acknowledges that she does not have any scientific tests to prove the medicinal value of hemp-based supplements. She hopes that by “pushing the envelope” a bit, researchers will be encouraged to study it.

“It’s experimental and we tell people that,” Brandon noted. “It’s not a miracle drug. This is truly a supplement designed to help conditions and help ongoing therapies, not the sole treatment of anything.”

Are testimonials good enough?

Both Canna Companion and Canna-Pet have heartwarming testimonials on their websites.

“She just seems happier overall, which is great to see,” Churchill told CNBC. “This is not wishful thinking. Her quality of life has definitely improved.”

Annabelle is a 14-year-old Persian cat featured on the Canna-Pet website. Owner Rose Easterling, a self-described “doubting Thomas,” was very apprehensive about using the product. She gave it to Annabelle because she didn’t like giving her the pain medication the vet prescribed.

“I don’t think it has cured anything. She still has arthritis, but it’s making her feel better,” Easterling said.

Does it work?

CNBC contacted a number of veterinary experts about the use of cannabis-related products to treat dogs and cats. All of them saw the potential for benefits for some conditions, such as anxiety and pain management. But they also pointed out that testimonials are not scientific evidence.

“There’s a whole host of hoo-ha out there when it comes to how this product can and should be used,” she said. “We have no information that is reliable, valid or useful about the true applications for cannabinoids. What we don’t know far exceeds what we know.”

Downing does not use cannabis-based products in her practice because she believes the opportunity to cause harm “far exceeds” the opportunity to help.

“We have no efficacy data in animals. We have zero safety data in animals. We have no dosing data in animals,” she said.

Downing also points out that this new industry has virtually no regulations in terms of manufacturing practices or verifying and standardizing the contents.

“There’s a huge amount of research that needs to be done,” said Narda Robinson, director of the Center for Comparative and Integrative Medicine at Colorado State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital. “I expect there is some effect, but we need rigorous studies. We need to know more about safety and dosing and proper applications.”

Robinson hopes to start clinical trials next year, but first she wants to gather information from people who have given cannabinoid products to their pets. She set up a special email just for this purpose: AnimalMMJ@gmail.com.

Pet owners need to be cautious

While pet-lovers wait for the research, it’s clear that sales are getting ahead of the science.

Canna-Pet has only been selling to the public for about eight months and it’s already shipping its products throughout the U.S. and 23 foreign countries. Dan Goldfarb, president of Canna-Pet, calls it “an exploding market” that will grow exponentially in the years ahead.

“There is no risk. There’s no harm,” Goldfarb said. “Hemp is incredibly safe. We want people to try it.”

INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 1, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — An Indianapolis veterinarian wants to make sure that area pet owners make the appropriate arrangements for their animals to receive grooming, vaccinations and other wellness care before the holiday activity begins. According to Dr. Mike Graves of Binford Pet Wellness Clinic, grooming becomes a highly sought-after service for the holiday season, while up-to-date vaccinations are a prerequisite for pet boarding, another popular option at this time of year. “We want people to know that now is the time to make these arrangements, before all the available slots are reserved,” he says.

Dr. Graves explains that many pet owners who may not normally prioritize grooming suddenly recognize the need for it as the holiday season looms on the calendar. “People who are getting ready to receive guests or throw holiday parties often realize that their pet has a matted, shaggy coat, jagged toenails or a serious odor problem,” he says. The vet adds that this belated concern places a strain on the clinic’s grooming services as all reservations become quickly filled. As a result, many pets do not receive the baths, haircuts, anal gland expression, toenail trimming or other essential grooming services they need in time to greet guests.

Grooming matters for more than purely aesthetic reasons, Dr. Graves is quick to point out. “Dogs and cats who are overdue from a grooming session may also be missing out on an important wellness inspection, because it gives us a chance to look for skin issues, eye or ear infections, parasitic infestations and other potential health problems,” he says. The clinic tries to communicate the need to book grooming appointments early, usually by sending out emails to its clientele. Even so, argues the vet, pets should receive proper grooming as a critical aspect of their wellness care, regardless of the season.

Dr. Graves also tries to impress on clients the need to schedule all required vaccinations or vaccination updates in advance of the holidays, especially if owners plan to board their pets while they travel. He notes that most boarding facilities require documented proof that all a pet’s core vaccinations are up to date before accepting the pet into the facility, for the sake of the other boarders’ health. “It is important to schedule all vaccinations before the date of your boarding reservation, or your pet may end up with no place to stay and no one to take care of him,” he warns. The Indianapolis veterinarian adds that his clinic will attempt to provide as many vaccinations as possible between now and the holidays.

In addition to pet grooming and vaccinations, Binford Pet Wellness Clinic offers a variety of other services such as dental care, spay and neuter surgery, pest prevention, microchipping and emergency treatment for Indianapolis pets.